Simple
by aliii1329
Summary: Michael has some unexpected news, and he goes to his mom for help with the problem. Now a multi-chapter story.
1. Chapter 1

Sadly, Burn Notice isn't mine. Enjoy this short one shot.

Simple

Michael entered his mother's house, following noises to the kitchen, where he found her standing at the counter.

"Hello, Michael," she said. "How nice of you to drop by," she added sarcastically. "What do you need?" she questioned, getting straight to the point.

"Hi mom," he answered, ignoring her question.

"Michael," she said, looking up from the vegetables she was chopping, "why are you here?"

"I can't just drop in to say hi?" he asked innocently.

"We both know you don't do that," she replied.

He sighed in defeat. "Fine. Look, can we… talk?" he asked.

She glanced up at him, surprised. He wanted to talk? Michael wasn't one to vocalize his feelings. Something must be up.

"Sure honey," she answered, curious. "About what?"

He took a deep breath. "Well, I was talking to… Fi told me… I found out…" He took another deep breath, and blurted out, "Fi's pregnant."

Her chopping ceased. "Is it…"

"It's mine," he clarified.

She nodded slowly, waiting for him to continue.

"I… I can't… I don't… I don't know what to do," he finally spit out.

"What did you say when she told you?" Madeline questioned.

"Uh…" Michael stalled, not wanting to tell her.

"Michael," she said warningly.

"I, uh, didn't say anything for awhile… And then, I said, uh, Fi, we can't have a baby. And then she left, and I came here…" he finished lamely.

"Michael!" she said loudly, throwing her hands in the air, exasperated. "What were you thinking?" she questioned, looking at him like he was an idiot.

"I don't… know," he finally managed.

She took a deep breath, and willed herself not to start yelling before answering. "You better figure it out," she told him.

He nodded. "But I don't know what to tell her."

"Decide what you're going to do, and tell her that," she suggested.

"But I don't know what to do," he groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Michael," she said seriously, "What you do is going to define what kind of man you are."

He started pacing. "You think I should marry her?" he questioned.

"Did I say that?" she asked. He shook his head. "No, Michael, I don't think you should marry her. A baby isn't a good enough reason for a wedding," she said, ignoring his surprised look. "You should marry someone because you love them. Otherwise you'll end up divorced, or you'll only stay together for the kid's sake. That's not the way it should be. And a kid will know that."

"So I shouldn't marry her?" he repeated. She shook her head. "Well what should I do?" he questioned, confused.

"The right thing," was her cryptic reply. He sighed loudly and increased the speed of his pacing. "It's simple, Michael," she said finally.

"Simple?" He repeated incredulously. "You think this is simple?"

"Yes," she said simply. "You just have to answer one question, Michael. Do you love her?"

He stopped pacing and stood frozen, staring at her. "Yes," he answered quietly. "More than anything."

She looked at him. "Then I think you have your answer."


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, so this was originally just going to be a oneshot, but you guys wanted more, so I decided to add to it. I'm not sure how often it will be updated, though. Unfortunately, AP History and AP English really suck up my free time. But I'll try to do it as fast as I can. Anyway, here's chapter 2. Enjoy.

Simple - Chapter 2

Michael thanked his mom and sped out to the Charger, dialing Fi's number on the way. Unfortunately, she didn't pick up. He swore and dialed again, starting the drive to her condo. She always answered his calls. The fact that she wasn't picking up showed just how pissed she was. He had really screwed up.

He got to her condo faster than usual and headed towards the door, hoping she'd at least answer that, preferably unarmed. It would be just his luck to have her open the door with a gun in his face. If she was half as mad as he expected, she might actually shoot him. Not fatally, probably, but enough to hurt.

He knocked hesitantly, listening for sounds of movement inside. He heard some shuffling and the door opened, revealing a red eyed Fiona. Michael knew her well enough to know that she had been crying, and he felt a tug at his heart. He mentally kicked himself; he hated that he was the one who made her cry.

She didn't slam the door in his face. He took that as a good sign.

"I'm an idiot," he said by way of greeting. She didn't argue.

"I'm sorry," he started. "When you told me, I was surprised. And I panicked. I thought of a million reasons why I shouldn't be a father. My old job, my enemies, my entire lifestyle. It seemed like an awful thing to bring a kid into. But then I realized something. That baby," he gestured towards her abdomen. "He's not even a person yet. I don't know what he'll look like, how he'll act, or who he'll grow up to be. But I already love him. And that scares me a little bit. I didn't know I could love someone I'd never even met. But I do. He hasn't even been born yet, and I already love him more than anything else," he finished. "Except maybe his mom," he added, taking a step closer to her.

She looked at him in amazement, processing everything he had just said. If she had understood everything correctly, it sounded like he wanted this. The baby, her, all of it. And, if his last statement was true, he seemed to be implying that he loved her. That was amazing. The most she'd ever gotten out of him was that speech out on the balcony after Samantha had shown up, but he had been speaking in past tense then. This, if she was reading it correctly, seemed to be about the present. As in he loved her right now. She looked at him, unsure what to say.

Michael stood watching her, waiting for some sort of reaction. She was just staring, and he hoped she wasn't still angry. After several minutes passed and she still hadn't said anything, he spoke again.

"Fi?" he questioned quietly. His voice seemed to jerk her out of her thoughts and the next thing he knew, she had flung herself at him, wrapping him in a hug. His own arms automatically went around her, pulling her closer to him before he dropped a kiss to her forehead.

"You're going to do this?" she questioned softly.

"I'm going to do this," he repeated. "All of it. The midnight cravings, the crazy mood swings, the doctor's appointments. All of it."

"We're going to do this?" she questioned again.

"We're going to do this," he repeated.

"We're going to have a baby," she said in awe, as if it was only just registering.

"We're going to have a baby," he repeated her again, his mind registering that he sort of sounded like a parrot. He smiled, then kissed her forehead again.

"How are we going to tell Madeline?" she wondered out loud. He tensed slightly and she noticed.

"Michael?" she questioned slowly.

"She already knows," he admitted.

"Michael!" she said loudly.

"Sorry, Fi. I didn't mean to tell her without you… But I needed to talk through it with someone. She helped me figure some stuff out," he said. "Like how I'm an idiot," he explained.

"I already knew that," she muttered under her breath. "She really helped?" she questioned.

"Yeah," he admitted, surprised as well. "She made it…" he paused, and then decided on a word. "She made it simple."


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, everyone. Thanks so much for all the reviews! I wasn't sure about this story at first, so I'm glad you guys like it. Sorry it took so long for the update. I'll try to be quicker with the next one. And to answer VB923's question, no I haven't decided whether or not the baby's going to be a boy. I didn't want to call him/her an "it" and I figured "he" would be the more likely pronoun for Michael to use. So if anyone wants to suggest whether or not it should be a boy or girl, I'll take the suggestions into consideration. Anyway, here's chapter 3.

Simple - Chapter 3

A few hours later, Michael and Fi were sitting on Fi's couch, passing a blueberry yogurt and spoon between the two of them. They were sitting in a comfortable silence, except for the occasional scraping of the spoon against the yogurt container. Fiona handed the container to Michael and then spoke.

"If I get morning sickness, I will shoot you," she said with a smile.

"Sure, Fi," he agreed lightheartedly. However, in the back of his mind he was praying that she didn't. He took threats from Fiona very seriously. He had scars that proved she didn't mess around, and he did not want to be on the receiving end of her temper any time in the near future. Or the distant future, for that matter. She sounded like she was joking, but with Fi you never knew, and he actually did want to live to see the birth of his child.

They both jumped slightly when Michael's phone started to ring. He passed the yogurt back to her and reached to answer his phone.

"Hello," he answered. "Hey, Sam… No, I'm at Fi's… Ok… Now?... Alright, see you there… Bye." He hung up and turned towards Fi.

"A job?" she questioned.

He nodded. "Yeah. Sam didn't give the details, but he said he needs help. He wants us to meet at him at Carlito's in twenty minutes. He'll explain there," Michael answered.

She nodded in agreement and got off the couch, heading towards the kitchen. She tossed the empty yogurt into the garbage and rinsed the spoon before placing it in the sink. Michael followed her into the kitchen.

"Do you want to take your car or the Charger?" he asked.

"I don't feel like driving, so the Charger," she answered before heading towards the door. He grabbed his keys from where he had placed them on the counter and followed her out the door to his car.

He climbed into the driver's seat as she settled into the passenger seat. Once he had started the car, he reached over with his right hand and grabbed Fi's left, intertwining their fingers. She glanced at their hands, smiling slightly, but didn't say anything.

Michael's voice broke the silence. "Do you want to tell Sam?" he asked.

She shrugged. "He'll need to find out sometime," she said. "But I don't think he needs to know right now."

Michael nodded. "We can wait," he agreed. "He's going to be upset that he was the last to find out," he said with a smirk.

Fi laughed. "He should be happy we tell him at all," she answered.

Michael chuckled slightly. "He's certainly going to be surprised," he pointed out.

"Not as surprised as me," she answered.

"Or me," he added as they pulled up outside of the restaurant. He parked the car, and let go of Fi's hand so he could get out of the car. She frowned slightly as the loss of contact, but smiled when he grabbed her hand again as soon as they were both out of the car. They headed into the restaurant, keeping an eye out for Sam.

They noticed him at a table with his ever-present beer. He noticed them walking towards him and spoke.

"Hey, guys," he said, noticing but not commenting on their intertwined hands.

Michael and Fi sat down across from him.

"Hey, Sam," Michael answered.

Sam caught the waitress's attention and ordered another beer for himself, as well as two more for Michael and Fiona.

"Oh," Fi interrupted, "I'll just have iced tea." She shot a glare at Michael who panicked slightly and spoke.

"Me too," he added quickly. The waitress nodded and Sam looked at the two of them, confused.

"You guys okay?" he finally asked.

They both nodded. "Fine," Michael answered. Sam quirked an eyebrow.

"You sure? You guys seem… off," he said.

"We're fine, Sam," Fi said sharply. He threw his hands up in defense.

"Okay." He looked at Michael, who conveyed with a glance that Sam shouldn't push it. He silently agreed.

"So what's the job?" Michael asked, steering the conversation out of dangerous territory. If he wasn't careful and Sam kept pushing this, Fi might strangle him. Best to move the conversation along.

Sam started talking. "It should be pretty simple," he started.

"You always say that, Sam, but it hardly ever is," Michael pointed out. He had lost count of the number of times Sam had brought him a job that he insisted would be completed in a day or two with minimal effort, but ended up being the exact opposite.

Sam grinned. "Yeah, well this one actually should be," he promised. Michael nodded.

"So what is it?" Fi asked.

"An old buddy of mine has a friend whose daughter is getting knocked around by her husband," he started. Michael's eyes narrowed. Fi squeezed his hand.

"Why doesn't your friend take care of it?" Fi asked.

"Well…" Sam started.

"Sam," Fi said, sensing that this was going to be the part that would make this job a lot more complicated than your typical domestic violence case. She could only imagine what he was about to tell them.

He sighed and started explaining slowly, knowing the reaction he was about to get. "The husband… might be an… FBI agent," he finally admitted. "But it's no big deal," he added quickly before either one of them could interrupt.

Michael and Fi gave him matching incredulous expressions. He wanted them to go after an FBI agent, and he wanted them to believe it would be "no big deal". Right.

Michael spoke again. "Sam?" he questioned.

"Yeah, Mike?" Sam said innocently, taking a sip of his beer.

"There's something else," he prompted. He had known Sam for years, and he knew when he was keeping things from him. There was something else about this job, more than just the fact that the husband was a federal agent. He could tell.

"Wow, those iced teas are taking forever, huh?" he asked, avoiding the question.

"Sam…" Michael said, just as the waitress arrived and placed chilled glasses of iced tea in front of both Michael and Fiona, as well as another beer bottle in front of Sam. They stopped talking as the waitress delivered their drinks, but once she left, Michael looked pointedly at Sam.

"Okay, fine. Maybe he's not an FBI agent," Sam started. "Maybe he's a deputy director of the Miami field office…"


End file.
